V for Vic Arious

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Every rugby league expansionist's dreams were realised this week with the USA Tomahawks qualifying for the 2013 Rugby League World cup. Having fallen at the final hurdle in their last two campaigns the result was sweet reward for the boys in red, white and blue as they put behind them a fractured domestic scene to run out convincing winners in the Atlantic Qualifiers against South Africa and Jamaica.

The result brings with it a very interesting couple of years for rugby league in the land of the free. The American market has long been viewed as a type of El Dorado by International sporting bodies, with its large population and appetite for sport radiating big dollars. Despite this just like in the music and entertainment industry the US sports market is not an easy nut to crack, with its glut of well entrenched domestic sports dominating headlines.

This phenomena has been witnessed over the last decade with soccer, a sport which despite having billions at its disposal has only recently become mainstream in America despite the men's teams presence at numerous FIFA World Cups. Thus, it's unlikely big Billy Bob from Baltimore will be ditching his Monday night NFL for Friday night AMNRL anytime soon, but this is not to say Rugby League shouldn't be charging onto the pass at full speed. The physical nature of the game, along with the significant novelty factor of